The Bruins fell to 4-3 since the start of 2023 after coming up just short in Boulder on Friday night.
It came down to the wire, but the Bruins were unable to escape Boulder with a road win Friday night.
No. 8 UCLA women’s basketball (17-4, 6-3 Pac-12) lost 73-70 to No. 25 Colorado (16-4, 7-2) in overtime at the CU Events Center, catching a few breaks to keep them in it but ultimately failing to pull through down the stretch. The Buffaloes missed a potential game-winning free throw at the end of regulation, only for guard Charisma Osborne – who had carried her team back with two perfect trips to the line late – to miss a layup before the buzzer sounded.
Osborne nailed a big 3-pointer at the start of the extra period, but that was the only field goal UCLA hit in the five minutes of bonus action. Colorado, on the other hand, saved their 3-pointer for the very end, winning it with a long ball just before time expired.
Since the calendar has turned to 2023, the Bruins are 4-3.
UCLA was never in complete control Friday, but they did have swells of momentum early on. Runs of 6-0 and 10-0 put the Bruins up by as many as eight points in the first quarter, and they never trailed throughout the entire second frame.
Guard Frida Formann knocked down two quick triples in the third quarter, however, and UCLA was on its heels for the rest of the night. Guard Jayln Sherrod hit back-to-back 3-pointers of her own a few minutes later, and center Quay Miller hit a layup to put Colorado up by five.
UCLA never let the lead grow beyond that, but whenever they did steal back the lead, they could never get it past one point in their favor.
If it weren’t for forward Aaronette Vonleh missing a free throw with six seconds left on the clock, the Bruins wouldn’t have even pushed it to overtime. Still, they nearly forced a second extra period, but guard Kindyll Wetta hit a game-winning 3-pointer with 2 seconds left on the clock to seal it.
Guard Kiki Rice’s try at the buzzer was no good, and UCLA dropped to 5-3 on the road as a result.
With 5:24 left in the fourth quarter, both teams were shooting 23-for-56 from the field. From that point forward, however, the Bruins went 2-for-12 and the Buffaloes went 6-for-9.
Sherrod and Miller led all scorers with 20 and 18 points, respectively, while guard Londynn Jones led UCLA with 14 points. Her fellow freshman in the backcourt, Rice, finished with four points, three assists, four fouls and seven turnovers on 1-for-9 shooting from the field, 0-for-2 shooting from deep and 2-for-4 shooting from the stripe.
Osborne – who shot 3-for-16 from the field and 2-for-8 from deep – put up 12 points, as did forward Emily Bessoir. Forward Gabriela Jaquez scored 11 off the bench.
The Bruins won the rebounding battle 45-35, and their bench outscored the Buffaloes’ 35-16, but they were outscored 42-28 in the paint and 19-9 on the fast break.
UCLA will wrap up its mountain school road trip Sunday against Utah. That game, which is set to tip off at 11 a.m., will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
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